https://jefclaes.be/tags/travel/ Recent content in travel on Jef Claes Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:01:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/the-road-to-groglockner.html Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:01:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/the-road-to-groglockner.html Sixteen days after leaving home, we’re now on our way back to Antwerp. After Croatia, we’ve driven through Slovenia, Italy, Austra and Switzerland, arriving in France to meet up with my parents for a few days. France offered us the typical vineyards and chateaux. What, next to the good company, will stick with me the most is the High Alpine road in Austria. We paid 34 euros to be allowed on the road, but the surroundings of that piece of asphalt are extraordinary. https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/northbound-again.html Wed, 10 Sep 2014 11:25:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/northbound-again.html Leaving Plitvice behind us, we crossed the country heading for the sea. We didn’t need to cover a lot of distance, to discover how diverse the Croatian landscape and climate is. In only two hours we went from the cold, foggy lakes and waterfalls to green meadows to dusty mountains to sunbathing coasts. We followed the coastline for a little while, strolling through old coast towns, eating seafood, drinking something cold. https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/tolkiens-inspiration.html Sun, 07 Sep 2014 10:36:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/tolkiens-inspiration.html The next morning we woke up to another rainy day. We caught up with the rain in Austria and we have been following it ever since. Or the other way around. Even the locals can’t seem to stop talking about how much rain is falling. Between showers, we were able to hike the Vintgar trail. The one hour hike takes you along dangerous rapid waters, bringing you to a big waterfall. https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/porsches-and-setting-that-sells-them.html Tue, 02 Sep 2014 22:24:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2014/09/porsches-and-setting-that-sells-them.html With the Belgian ‘Summer’ ending, we are exploring South Eastern Europe. This trip will take us through Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. On Saturday, we stopped in Stuttgart to complete our list of visits to the three most popular European sports car museums, after visiting Lamborghini and Ferrari two years ago: the Porsche museum. In my teens, my affinity to fast cars was ignited by spending rainy afternoons at one of my best friends’s, attempting to crush each other’s track records playing Need For Speed Porsche Unleashed. https://jefclaes.be/2013/12/buildstuff-2013.html Sun, 15 Dec 2013 22:03:00 +0100 https://jefclaes.be/2013/12/buildstuff-2013.html Last night, I returned from Vilnius, after seven intensive days of Buildstuff. After a few long months, I was looking forward to be influenced and inspired by concepts and experiences strange to my day-to-day job - surrounded by people hungry to build better software. Because of the diversity of the program, the high level of the speakers and the presence of some familiar DDD-community faces, my expectations were easily met. Also, the location and low rates for tickets, transport and beer make it a very reasonable investment. https://jefclaes.be/2013/09/cz-trilogy.html Sun, 29 Sep 2013 18:15:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/09/cz-trilogy.html Over the weekend, we visited the Czech Republic for the third time (one and two). It’s mostly chance that sends us that way every time though. This time, we were invited by friends to accompany them in staying over at their family’s house - who made it their job to lead guided tours through Prague. We left Thursday right after work, hoping to get there in eight hours. A decent traffic jam, a missed exit, and some bad map reading decided otherwise; it added three hours to the trip. https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/to-live-die-in-la.html Tue, 16 Jul 2013 05:46:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/to-live-die-in-la.html After seventeen days, 2000 miles (3220km), seven states, eight national parks and fifteen motels, our second USA road trip has come to an end. Inspired, and with new insights, we’re leaving for Belgium in the morning. Along the way, we documented our journey in these posts: To Live & Die in L.A Fireworks, Tequila and Silvertown Blues She said yes! Stairway to heaven The long highway The road goes on forever Thanks for reading! https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/the-road-goes-on-forever.html Mon, 15 Jul 2013 04:51:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/the-road-goes-on-forever.html We didn’t get to see a lot of Salt Lake City. Before heading to Idaho Falls, we hung around at the mall, feasted on Sushi, and bought new hiking shoes since ours literally fell apart. Since Idaho Falls just served as a launching point to Yellowstone, we filled the hole in our schedule with a date night; we had BBQ and went to see WorldWar Z. After another long drive the next day, we exchanged the dirt for greener scenery. https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/the-long-highway.html Fri, 12 Jul 2013 07:13:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/the-long-highway.html We’re past halfway our trip and we need to make headway if we want to stay on schedule and reach Yellowstone by Sunday. Long, but pleasant drives; if you’re used to Belgian traffic. Yesterday we visited Capitol Reef National Park. We originally planned on doing the Hickman Bridge Trail, but apparently there had recently been a big rock fall, blocking access at the trailhead. As an alternative we did the Narrows trail at Grand Wash Road, which was carved by a stream ages ago and is now still sometimes victim to flashfloods. https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/stairway-to-heaven.html Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:04:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/stairway-to-heaven.html These last two days have been rather tiring. Yesterday we drove up to Bryce Canyon, where we did the Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop hike, which was only 3 miles (5km) but was rather strenuous because the trail takes you all the way down and all the way up again. Today we followed the advice of the kind lady at the visitor center and hiked along Calfs Creek. It was a 6 miles (10km) round trip through loose sand in over 100°F (38°C), but halfway you’re rewarded with a stunningly beautiful waterfall and a refreshing dip in the basin. https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/she-said-yes.html Tue, 09 Jul 2013 07:42:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/she-said-yes.html Since our stay in Vegas was rather short, we selected some things we failed to do last time. For me, shooting a gun was definitely on that list. Although I’m not that big on gun culture - seems to me that if you live by the gun, you’re more likely to die by the gun - it’s still a thrill holding such a powerful weapon. We headed to Vegas’s most popular shooting range: The Gun Store. https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/fireworks-tequila-and-silvertown-blues.html Sun, 07 Jul 2013 06:30:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/fireworks-tequila-and-silvertown-blues.html After a strenuous drive from Los Angeles to San Diego, we took advantage of the mild climate to unwind at San Diego’s Aquatica. Being the 4thof July, we joined the festivities and watched the fireworks from the car. Sadly we didn’t get to see a redo of last year’s spectacle, when San Diego accidentally launched all its fireworks in 30 seconds. Next we headed for Joshua Tree National Park. With temperatures flirting with 100°F (38°C), we took on one small hike and drove up to two viewpoints; Skull Rock and Key’s View. https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/to-live-die-in-la.html Thu, 04 Jul 2013 08:51:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2013/07/to-live-die-in-la.html After exploring the USA’s West Coast two years ago, we felt like we had to pay a second visit to fill in some blanks. We left Antwerp Sunday 7AM to touch down 25 hours later in LAX, after an eight hour cross-Atlantic flight to Newark and a six hour overlay waiting for a connecting flight. We were welcomed by a rental car salesman who strongly advised us to upgrade to a bigger SUV which would give us tinted windows since it’s gonna be hot, you know. https://jefclaes.be/2012/10/cote-dopale.html Mon, 08 Oct 2012 21:51:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2012/10/cote-dopale.html The girlfriend, me and another couple, returned from a short weekend at the French Opal Coast yesterday evening. Although we only planned this trip a week in advance, we still failed to anticipate how erratic the weather can be in October; setting up camp in the dark, on a sloughy underground, with a soft drizzle on your back, isn’t my idea of fun after a long day at work. The next morning, with destination Cape Blanc Nez, we drove over coastal routes between vast green fields, towards clearer skies. https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/finito.html Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:23:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/finito.html With this last post, our trip to Italy has come to an end. We have spent these last few days practicing several indispensable tourist activities: testing the ice cold lake water, to wriggle between other sunbathers on the packed beach right after, exuberant eating and drinking, reading novels, and sauntering between prullaria shops. Fortuitously, one of our last evenings here was upgraded by fireworks over an already moonlit Lake Garda. This outlying location gave the fireworks show an extra notch. https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/milano.html Fri, 27 Jul 2012 22:25:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/milano.html After Venice on Wednesday, we decided to stay in Torbole for a relaxing hike yesterday. As it turned out, the hiking trail that was described in the brochures as suitable for all and with a duration of 1h20, in reality took us 2h30 and sour calves to complete. The views of the lake’s valley and its school of windsurfers defying the wind were worth the sweat though. Arriving at the endpoint, and discovering that we had to wait over an hour for the bus to take us back, we stumbled upon one of the best hidden lake side terraces we’ve seen yet. https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/the-floating-city.html Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:38:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/the-floating-city.html Yesterday we cruised along the eastern coastline of Lake Garda. Plan A was to visit Malcesine and take the cableway up to the top of Monte Baldo, but since the line at the ticket center resembled one of a Justin Bieber concert, we skipped the cableway. Maybe we’ll give it another try later this week, but then earlier in the day. We continued our journey along the coast, passing past several genuinely picturesque villages. https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/ferrari-red-lamborghini-yellow.html Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:56:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2012/07/ferrari-red-lamborghini-yellow.html After 14 hours and 34 minutes in the car, driving 1148km, over the German autobahn, swerving Austrian roads, and the Italian autostrade, defying overwhelming hail storms, roadwork and miles long tunnel congestions, we arrived at Torbole, Italy. Torbole is a small village, nestled between the mountains, right at the edge of Lake Garda. While the lakeside view is astonishing, you have to pick the right time to truly experience it. In the daytime, the village is overwhelmed by tourists; miles long rows of cars queue to enter the village, pizzerias and ristorantes on every corner, Germans galore. https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/once-upon-time-in-west.html Sat, 17 Sep 2011 11:15:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/once-upon-time-in-west.html The girlfriend and I returned from our West Coast roadtrip yesterday morning. We found this trip to be an unforgettable experience, which made us even more hungry for future travels. This blog will return to business as usual, with mainly technical content and opinions. Here is an overview of our posts exploring the West Coast: If you’re going to San Francisco Yosemite skyscrapers Sands of Nevada Rusty Rocks From Glen to Grand Edge of eternity Fear and loathing in Las Vegas City of fallen angels https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/city-of-fallen-angels.html Tue, 13 Sep 2011 05:45:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/city-of-fallen-angels.html After seeing the celebrities at Madame Tussaud’s in Las Vegas, we went for the real deal. Turns out Hollywood is a lot less glamourous than we expected. The Walk of Fame isn’t a lot different from any other gray sidewalk, paved with long-forgotten stars. The famous Hollywood sign isn’t even lit a night, making the contrast with Beverly Hills at the other side of town even bigger. Maybe there’s another side to Hollywood that we haven’t seen, since we only stayed for two days, one of which at the Universal Studios. https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas.html Sun, 11 Sep 2011 02:49:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas.html Driving back into the desert after our breakfast, with Las Vegas in the rear-view mirror, we secretly feel a little relieved to be heading back to the real world. The cocktail of fake pyramids, indoor jungles, Paris landmarks, castles and volcanoes became a little nauseating. With hotels and casinoes resembling labyrinths, designed to get people trapped inside, it feels liberating to drive through the wide open landscape again. Some of the things we enjoyed the most were the late nights walking the Strip, watching free shows, standing on top of the Stratosphere and posing with the wax celebs at Madame Tussaud’s. https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/edge-of-eternity.html Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:40:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/edge-of-eternity.html We all know the Grand Canyon as one of the seven natural wonders of the world, today I learned why. As one of the locals described: ‘Pretty amazing for a big hole in the ground’. Being the closest to the south entrance, we visited the South Rim of the canyon. A trip to the visitor center taught us there were no easy hikes (except for the going down part), so we didn’t attempt at one. https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/from-glen-to-grand.html Tue, 06 Sep 2011 07:14:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/from-glen-to-grand.html Yesterday, we drove from Saint-George to Page, Arizona. The Pipe Springs National Monument happened to be on our way, so we made a stop. Turned out there wasn’t much to see. A 30-minute ranger-led tour made it worthwhile though. During the tour through the Winsor Castle, she told us about the Mormons who used to live there. The Fort manager, also head of their Mormon church, married 58 women, resulting in plenty of children to work the Fort. https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/rusty-rocks.html Sun, 04 Sep 2011 07:23:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/rusty-rocks.html We started the day with a short drive to Zion National Park. On our way we came across some colossal rock formations, layered with different shades of red. Since the park is almost entirely car free, we took the shuttle bus along the scenic route. We got off at different stops, to take short hikes to the park’s natural treasures. The Emerald Pools were first up, followed by the Weeping Rock and a riverside walk to the Narrows, which are architected by the Virgin river. https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/yesterday-evening-we-spent-night-in.html Sat, 03 Sep 2011 06:29:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/yesterday-evening-we-spent-night-in.html Yesterday evening we spent the night in a town called Tonopah, which is literally in the middle of nowhere. Today we continued our trip to Zion (Utah), driving hundreds of miles through the Nevada desert, getting sunburned on the way. There was not a soul in sight, except for cattle crossing the road, who seemed to be waiting for us to pass to say hello. We just arrived at St. George, which is a launching point to Zion National Park. https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/yosemite-skyscrapers.html Fri, 02 Sep 2011 07:10:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/09/yosemite-skyscrapers.html These skyscrapers are, other than the enormous mountains, the redwood sequoia on top of them. Some of these trees are the same height as a thirty story building, which is higher than the Statue Of Liberty. It’s almost impossible to capture these giants on camera.  After a short hike between the sequoia, we drove off to Yosemite Valley to discover the Yosemity Falls. Although the falls must be more impressive in Winter, they were still worth visiting. https://jefclaes.be/2011/08/if-youre-going-to-san-francisco.html Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:30:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/08/if-youre-going-to-san-francisco.html While I’m writing this, the girlfriend and I are on our way from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park. We have spent two full days visiting ‘Fog City’. During these two intensive days we were able to see everything we aimed for, maybe more. Financial District This part of town is definitely worth a visit. The multiplicity of skyscrapers merging into the San Francisco fog, is an impressive view. When the fog has gone, the shadows the buildings cast on each other are just as amazing. https://jefclaes.be/2011/04/prague-impressions.html Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:45:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2011/04/prague-impressions.html Last year my girlfriend and I already made a trip to the Czech Republic, but we felt like we had spent to little time visiting Prague. We made up for that by making a follow-up trip last week. Find some of our most memorable impressions captured on picture below.. The Lennon Wall Love padlocks near the Lennon Wall. Hiking route in the New Town district. The Charles bridge from a distance. https://jefclaes.be/2010/10/trip-report-denmark-part-2.html Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:30:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2010/10/trip-report-denmark-part-2.html If you missed the first part of this trip report, you can find it here. Funen After three days of Copenhagen we stayed at Funen for two days. This is the smallest of the three big islands of Denmark. Our motel was in a small town called Faaborg. During these two days in Funen the most impressive attraction we went to see was the Egeskov Castle. This castle is Europe’s best preserved Renaissance water castle. https://jefclaes.be/2010/10/trip-report-denmark-part-1.html Wed, 13 Oct 2010 20:30:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2010/10/trip-report-denmark-part-1.html Last month me and my girlfriend went on a holiday to Denmark for a week. We had a great time, visited a lot of places and took hundreds of pictures. In this post you can find a trip report containing the best pictures and tips on places to see. Copenhagen The first three days of this holiday we visited Copenhagen. These three days were the most interesting, but also the most intensive days of the holiday. https://jefclaes.be/2010/07/tripping-in-holland-honey-who-shrunk.html Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:30:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2010/07/tripping-in-holland-honey-who-shrunk.html People who follow me on Twitter might have seen my tweets about going on a weekend to Holland with some friends. Next to excessive eating and drinking, we took the time to do some sightseeing in The Hague. The sight which gave us the most interesting pictures is Madurodam. Madurodam is a miniature city featuring the most famous Dutch buildings and landmarks. Hope you enjoy these pictures! https://jefclaes.be/2010/04/trip-report-czech-republic.html Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:16:00 +0200 https://jefclaes.be/2010/04/trip-report-czech-republic.html Last week my girlfriend and I went on a short holiday to the city of Plzeň in the Czech Republic. In this post you can find a small trip report. Roadtrippin’ Minutes after leaving home we discovered an unpleasant surprise; my Tom Tom has no map of the Czech Republic. Good thing that people used to print this stuff on paper. After consulting a paper map of Europe we did have an idea which direction to follow. https://jefclaes.be/2009/11/my-trip-to-madrid-in-ten-pictures.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:30:00 +0100 https://jefclaes.be/2009/11/my-trip-to-madrid-in-ten-pictures.html Last week I went to Madrid with my family-in-law to visit my girlfriend’s brother and cousin. Although our stay there was rather short (only four days), we visited some of the most impressive places in Madrid: - Stadium Real Madrid The Royal Palace Prado Museum Queen Sofia Museum Buen Retiro Park Plaza Mayor … Stadium Real Madrid Pay attention to the stitching Jesus in first place.